My favorite was a gift I gave. In 2003 my mom was 75 - we had a huge party for her and asked all the guests to bring pictures of their families.

my favorite gift that I gave was when my nephew got married. I contacted his future mother in law and sent her a package of recipe pages and asked her to give them out to as many relatives as she could and have them mailed back to me, and I sent out recipe pages to our side of the family as well. Then I put together a cookbook with all handwritten recipes from both sides of the family... mom's, grandma's, aunts, cousins, sisters, friends, and gave it to her at her bridal shower. It took me about 6 months to put it together but it was a lot of fun. Besides getting an instant heirloom, she also got tons of great recipes. You can bet I copied quite a few of them myself.

my favorite gift that I gave was when my nephew got married. I contacted his future mother in law and sent her a package of recipe pages and asked her to give them out to as many relatives as she could and have them mailed back to me, and I sent out recipe pages to our side of the family as well. Then I put together a cookbook with all handwritten recipes from both sides of the family... mom's, grandma's, aunts, cousins, sisters, friends, and gave it to her at her bridal shower. It took me about 6 months to put it together but it was a lot of fun. Besides getting an instant heirloom, she also got tons of great recipes. You can bet I copied quite a few of them myself.

Marley - what a terrific idea! I always favor "Grandmas pound cake" recipe over a cookbook recipe any day. I bet he and his new wife loved it!

That IS sweet, and very generous for a one month anniversary. Keep him around- he sounds thoughtful.

I know! I will! Not just for the material benefits, actually not for that at all, he is also one of the most kind, caring, sweet, smart people I have ever met. Really, what other "gift" can you want then a great partner in life?

Marley, that is a neat gift you described! But, I loved the card from your son.

I know! I will! Not just for the material benefits, actually not for that at all, he is also one of the most kind, caring, sweet, smart people I have ever met. Really, what other "gift" can you want then a great partner in life?

I did sound materialistic, didn't I? I'm not really- the best gifts really are the ones that someone gives you because they know you. I once received a couple of postcards that meant a lot to me, because it meant that someone was thinking of me when he was on vacation. Long story...

It's a cliche, but I usually like to give rather than receive, but often, I simply like when someone takes the time to hand-write a note to me. In this day and age with email, fax, text messages and cell phones, taking the time to sit down and write a note without the aid of technology is a thoughtful gesture.

Ohhhhhh...I like that too! Any day with a real, live-on-paper letter from friend or family is a great day!!

I don't know if I have a "favorite gift"...whenever I receive something, I'm just so touched that someone thought of me. I'm a much better giver than receiver.

Ohhhhhh...I like that too! Any day with a real, live-on-paper letter from friend or family is a great day!!

In keeping with this theme, Lil Rose and I were on an airplane last week. We stayed up late to get the 'A' ticket online so we'd be one of the first passengers to board. So, here we are settled on the plane, our carry-on bags stowed overhead, happy we took care of things so we could relax. People are continually boarding, more and more of them, filling up seats. Some jerk comes up and says to me, "you're sitting in my seat." Huh? He repeats himself. Apparently he and his family were on a connecting flight, and I don't know, maybe he went to the bathroom or something. But HIS WIFE AND TWO KIDS WERE SITTING ACROSS THE AISLE FROM ME AND NEVER SAID A WORD ABOUT ME BEING IN "HIS SEAT." He was so adamant and nasty about it, I just got up and moved. Well, to make a long story short (honest, it's even longer ), I was able to get a seat behind and sideways from my daughter (she's 18, not a kid), and about halfway through the flight, we started passing notes back and forth. Now I have all these hilarious notes on paper, in our handwriting (with silly faces drawn in the margins), that I wouldn't have had, had we been able to sit next to each other. So, I still think he was a jerk, but at least I have these terrific mementos that I'll keep forever.

Pimp My Ride!

Whether you've been naughty or nice this year, let's hope with all the generosity you've shown other people, maybe you have something to enjoy yourself!

I have two favorite gifts from this Christmas:

1) J.'s parents bought me a cover for the bed of my pickup truck! I've been looking at them for six months, but there was always something else I should spend money on (ie bills), so I was ecstatic to receive one for Christmas. The best part was that J.'s father and brother helped me put it on as soon as I opened it. The two of them had the drill down cold, and we had it on there in 20 minutes. By myself, I would have spent 20 hours putting it together, and probably end up ripping it!

2) J. bought me a Playstation2. DVD's and games in one--what could possibly be better?!